PCB show cause notice: Corp passes buck to KWA

Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy capital investment is required to ensure sewerage network in all city wards and it will take time to achieve the target, said corporation, while quoting Kerala Water Authority (KWA) in its response to the show cause notice issued by pollution control board (PCB).
PCB had recently invoked the ‘polluter pays’ principle to slap a show cause notice on corporation citing lapses in sewage and solid waste management.
The civic body was asked to take corrective measures within a stipulated time or show cause why the corporation shall not be told to deposit an environmental compensation of Rs 1 crore/ month from the date of the order issued by National Green Tribunal in January 2019.
PCB, in its notice, cited that corporation has the responsibility and power to implement sewerage within its limits, while recovering service charge from beneficiaries.
Corporation contested this point and noted that as per 12th schedule of the Constitution, of the 18 functions only 16 were transferred to local bodies.
The functions related to fire and water are the responsibility of fire and rescue services and KWA, corporation said in its communication to PCB.
Corporation recalled that KWA had proposed an estimate of Rs 1,386 crore to ensure a sewerage network in 18 blocks under AMRUT scheme. But, Centre allotted only Rs 151.9 crore. As many as 112 projects were identified based on priority and 110 were tendered. After that 88 projects were awarded and only 37 were completed under the scheme.
The civic body further said that KWA too had the power to develop, design and implement sewerage network and treatment plants and it too has the right to recover sewerage service charge from beneficiaries.
Replying to a statement that corporation has been using stormwater drains as a convenient system for disposal of sewage and sullage into rivers and lakes, the civic body said that it has collected a penalty of Rs 12 lakh (till date) from those who disposed sewage and sullage into stormwater drains.
The PCB notice also showed water quality reports and pointed out that PCB officials monitored stormwater courses of the city on March 21 and as per the water quality report, biological oxygen demand (BOD) value was over 30mg/L, which exceeded the BOD value of 3mg/L for bathing.
The notice added that corporation hadn’t taken steps for the protection of waterbodies from the urban waste, namely sewage and sullage generated in the city.